garybob
Well-known member
Too big to be an Aubrac. Maybe........Parthenais?
Name this breed
- Thread starter Telos
- Start date
Help Support Steer Planet:
TJ
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 15, 2007
- Messages
- 2,036
garybob said:
It's not a Blonde & it's not a Parthenais, that much I am pretty sure of. I also don't really think that it is an Aubrac because it isn't yellowish enough, but that is my best guess after learning that it is a French breed. I'm stumped!! ???
Telos
Well-known member
That is a very good guess Frostback or perhaps you just new the breed and not a guess at all. DL, selects the awards though, and I am sure it is something very special.
GASCON AREOLEalso know as MIRANDAISE
Origin; Gers France established herd book1894
Population; 200 cows in France (in conservation)
Weight of cows; 1200 to a little over 1500 pounds
In the past the Gascon Areole, or Mirandaise, was prized for its docility, strength, powerful legs and resistance to heat. Like other breeds in Southwestern France, the Gascon became a specialized meat breed when draft animals were no longer needed. The Gascon Areole branch of the breed is renowned for its excellent fertility and the quality of its milk.
Threatened with extinction by the changes brought about in farming in the Gers region over the past thirty years, the breed is carefully protected with a view to conserving its genetic material.
There is a couple of sites if you want to google, Mirandaise. I think this breed possibly could have been a more interesting genetic base when we were trying to increase the frame of cattle in the seventies. At least they are docile according to the information I have read. They have been used to infuse new genetics in the Blonde d'Aquitaine and other breeds of the region as well.
GASCON AREOLEalso know as MIRANDAISE
Origin; Gers France established herd book1894
Population; 200 cows in France (in conservation)
Weight of cows; 1200 to a little over 1500 pounds
In the past the Gascon Areole, or Mirandaise, was prized for its docility, strength, powerful legs and resistance to heat. Like other breeds in Southwestern France, the Gascon became a specialized meat breed when draft animals were no longer needed. The Gascon Areole branch of the breed is renowned for its excellent fertility and the quality of its milk.
Threatened with extinction by the changes brought about in farming in the Gers region over the past thirty years, the breed is carefully protected with a view to conserving its genetic material.
There is a couple of sites if you want to google, Mirandaise. I think this breed possibly could have been a more interesting genetic base when we were trying to increase the frame of cattle in the seventies. At least they are docile according to the information I have read. They have been used to infuse new genetics in the Blonde d'Aquitaine and other breeds of the region as well.
Telos
Well-known member
I had a bad headache and it was hot outside so I spent a little time surfing the web and found that breed. Sorry would love to say that I saw them when I was in france once but nothing that exciting happens in my life. Truth hurts sometimes but I never lie. Telos lets have another.
justintime
Well-known member
If memory serves me right, I believe there was some Gasconne imported into Canada, around the same time that the Normandy cattle ( and a few other breeds) were imported in the late 70s. The main imports that we all know, ie: Simmental, Maine Anjou, Limousin, Chianina, Pinzgauer,Tarentaise, around the same time in the initial imports. A few years later there was a second set of imports, including a bunch of these lesser known breeds. Most of these smaller breeds, slowly disappeared, as did their owners. I believe there were some Gasconne included in some of these shipments. I do not remmeber them being around for very long and I expect all descendants are long gone. Other breeds that came about this same time were the Parthanis, Mouse- Rhien- Issel ( MRI), Romanolgia, Marchigania, and a few others.
I remember a neighbour importing two MRI heifer calves at a cost of about $20,000 each. I was there when he met the truck and I have never seen a guy so disheartened. Two little 450 Lb heifers walked off the truck that were simply..... very poor. He kept them for a couple of years, and tried to sell them to everyone he met, and eventually sold them at the auction mart for less than $500 each. There were lots of stories like this in that era. Many fortunes were made by a few, but many family farms were lost as well.
I remember a neighbour importing two MRI heifer calves at a cost of about $20,000 each. I was there when he met the truck and I have never seen a guy so disheartened. Two little 450 Lb heifers walked off the truck that were simply..... very poor. He kept them for a couple of years, and tried to sell them to everyone he met, and eventually sold them at the auction mart for less than $500 each. There were lots of stories like this in that era. Many fortunes were made by a few, but many family farms were lost as well.
knabe
Well-known member
i did a little checking on these breeds and they all seem to come out of africa. if they came by boat, it would explain a lot about their distribution. what would be really interesting is to do a snp analysis for some key traits where they differ, perhaps even genes thought to be important for disease resistance. the easy one to start with might be milk production, fat content of milk, fat distribution and udder structure, since essentially they are land races derived from a small gene pool, or at least a population with little selection, what you have here is some evolution in a very short amount of time. this may seem outrageous, but the same thing happened with many speciecs that were affected by the iceage, particularly fish that got landlocked that used to live in the ocean and go to freshwater sources to spawn. the species i'm thinking about here is stickleback fish. this is probably what happened with trout, but at a much earlier time point, and many other species. genomes are not static and are constantly evolving, and is actually a false premise to "preserving" species, especially if they are hybridizing to respond to environmental conditions. environmentalists want to keep everything static, even as the environment changes, even in the absence of man.
Telos
Well-known member
OK Frostback. You probably will still get the award, but the Gascon or Gasconne is a separate breed from a different region.
The Gascon Areole or Mirandaise is not to be confused with the Gasconne breed. The color around the mucous membranes, ears, muzzle and eyes have a coloring the French call 'areolee' meaning haloing in color. These peripheral areas have a coloring which go from black to white.
The Gascon Areole or Mirandaise is not to be confused with the Gasconne breed. The color around the mucous membranes, ears, muzzle and eyes have a coloring the French call 'areolee' meaning haloing in color. These peripheral areas have a coloring which go from black to white.
Telos said:
The first Name the Breed award goes to frostback - it consists of a portrait suitable for framing of the breed in question - this will happen whenever Jason can get the cow to sit still long enough for a picture! ;D ;D Runner up to JIT for a little bit of history - BTW have any of you read "The Ranch - a modern history of the North American cattle industry" by Sherm Ewing? Interesting about the great importation from Europe...
